Deep in the Heart of Mordor...

[Andy01]

... Sauron's Eye is watching!

75hrs data on the Helix. Gathered over 2 months from Melbourne.
Finally managed some processing time to clear the backlog of my ever increasing data :)

Pushed the data pretty hard to get the outer chevrons & fiiigree details to seperate from the LP at my inner suburban location.
There's some noise present to maintain the signal, softened as required - not an easy task!
Reckon I could still go another 50 hours to get more detail! :screwy:

30hrs 3nm Ha 1800 secs
30Hrs 3nm Ha Bin x 2 1200 secs
11 Hrs O3 1800 secs
1hr each RG & B 120secs

Wanted to show the O3 eye structures in the iris, so plenty of masking used in PS to balance the Ha/O3 present.

This was a Big Imaging Project (https://www.astrobin.com/full/378608/B/) - hopefully finished now!
Processed in AstropixelProcessor & PS.

A slightly more detailed, but noisier version is HERE (https://www.astrobin.com/full/378608/C/)

Thanks for looking, C&C welcome :)

[spiezzy]

Woooowwwwww

[Atmos]

Love love love the look of this one Andy! Very dramatic and looks quite different to the usual Helix :thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Hmmm, well welcome to the long helix club. Few more hours to catch up to my crazy effort a few years back. I ended up pulling 111 hours + but only used the 111 hours. If I were to do it again I would like a huge sensor with a big RC to capture the data.

Detail looks ok in the core but I think you might have missed a bit in the outer areas.

[strongmanmike]

Lots of time spent collecting data there Andy and I am sure plenty of time at the keyboard afterwards too :computer: :scared:. Looks a little rough in places but ... that's a very in your eye image :eyepop: :)...probably the most like an eye I have seen this object look really...?

Mike

[Retrograde]

Wow - one of the most unique takes on this I've seen. Very eye like too.
Fantastic detail in the centre particularly. Great work. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

A unique look there Andy. The 3nm O111 data really paid off there.

Greg.

[LewisM]

75hrs?????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????? ?

That's more than my 8 year total!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then again, Canberra in summer is cloud watching.

It really DOES look like an eye too Andy. No pareidolia goggles required

[Benjamin]

Stunning!

[Wilso]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Looks great Andy!

[RickS]

Very high impact and attractive, Andy!

[Peter Ward]

It is real?
Yes, but sadly also, a very definitive no.

The chevrons are difficult to capture and kudos for that.:thumbsup:

But a little research on images from larger/deeper/sharper instruments (M&T's 0.5 metre CDK benchmark 34 hour image, as a case in point.
....so over 3x the data there)

will show there is structure in this well known object, that has been smoothed over and/or has been exaggerated in processing, to beyond what is really here.

Sure a cliche' but the light has not been respected....the helix does not have a dark inner pupil.

And despite the Colgate toothpaste adverts, Jennifer Hawkin's skin really does have pores.

Bugger...I guess Red Symonds and I have similar synaptic pathways. :)

[multiweb]

Gotta agree with Peter on this one. The depth is very good showing the chevrons which are extremely faint. Colours are great and it looks like an eye with Oiii striations showing as an iris and the darkened ring emphasizing the pupil. But it was processed to look like what your vision of it was, not the way it actually looks, so it's more art than an astro photo.

[SimmoW]

Wow, that really does hit you in the eye!

Yep, mixed feelings, esp for the darker central core.

But I'm sure this was deliberate and will gain you many AIPP awards, the common folk that are most important will love it!

[xelasnave]

I am forced to comment.
I really like your image Andy.
Well done you have inspired me to give up☺
Alex

[Benjamin]

Interesting comments. My thoughts when I saw Andy’s image were not about the ‘eye’ at all but rather about how he had brought out the O3 (which in my extremely limited experience processing the Helix seems to result in darkening the center Ha somewhat). Also in the 3D modeling I’ve seen of this object the centre is a big bubble (not a flat surface) so the suggestion of a round uneven reflective surface seems kind of appropriate to me. So for me it’s as much an astro photo as a gorgeous image.

[spiezzy]

whether it be artistic or astro its a very fine image I would be proud of it Andy has put a lot of time into this project and to me it has a lot of Astro value as well as being stunning well done Andy and thank you for sharing your hard work cheers Pete

[pfitzgerald]

:bowdown::bowdown:That is gob-smackingly awesome Andy.

The depth and detail is amazing.

Well done.

[willik]

The best Gods eye I have seen on this sight for a while Andy looks great
Martin

[Andy01]

Ha ha ha! Lol :lol:



Cheers Colin! No point in trying to make it the same as everybody else’s ;)



Thanks Paul! It’s a case of balancing details vs. Noise - I had to work like crazy to separate the subtle details from the background sky at my lp affected location, and then it was an aesthetic choice to slightly blur the outer regions to make a pleasing image :D



Thanks for the good vibes there Mike :thumbsup:



Cheers Trevor, thanks :)



Thanks Greg, yes 3nm really helps at my location.



Lol, cheers Lewis - sounds like you’re just not getting out enough :lol:



:D :D :D



Cheers :thanx:



Cheers Rick :thumbsup:



Lol, your Red Symons IIS celebrity gongs always make entertaining reading Peter! :lol:

Knowing my history of endeavouring to prefer aesthetics to the norm, I didn’t expect you drag out the old Hoary Chestnut “respecting the light” cliche again though :question:

But that’s why we can celebrate our differences over a decent glas of Red or two :)




Cheers Mark, if it indeed looks more like Art than an Astro photo, mission accomplished & I’ll take that happily! :lol:
Now that being said, it’s all original data, nothing manipulated other than allowing the O3 signal to be strongly present, when it’s usually overwhelmed by the Ha- therefore revealing the “iris” to the viewer.
I agree it’s an unusual take on the familiar!



Cheers Simmo- maybe you can see through my cunning plan, or maybe not :rofl:



onya Alex :thumbsup:



Goodonya Ben, reckon you’re right there :thumbsup:



Thanks Pete, yep - marathon project alright- I can live with a polarised audience, must mean I have got their attention! Lol :rofl:



Thanks very much Paul :D



Very kind Martin, cheers! :)

[Andy01]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment, positive and negative the discussion & feedback is always welcome :)

To respond to the critiques bear in mind that even at 3nm this is a massive 30 hours of Ha Binx2, blended with a further 30 hrs of binx1 from a heavily LP affected location- so it’s never going to be TAK sharp. Tha fact that the chevrons are there at all is Kinda miraculous! :D

So yes, inspired by Fred Van der Haven and others this is unshamedly a bold presentation of the data gathered, processed absolutely deliberately to enhance the “Eye of God” reference in popular culture.

And to those who “get it”, thanks for your kind feedback :D
To those that don’t, it’s all good, not everyone likes Blue Poles, marmalade or the Collingwood footy team either! :lol:

Disclaimer: I’m not a pies fan, but you get what I mean :)

[ChrisV]

Totally brilliant. I can feel the eye burning through me

[Andy01]

For those interested, a slightly more detailed, but noisier version is HERE (https://www.astrobin.com/full/378608/C/) :)

[mynameiscd]

I don't like marmalade, or Collingswood but I do like Blue Poles and especially your version of Helix.
Its inspired me to give it s go myself right now before it sets.
Maybe not 75 hours yet
Keep up those long hours of imaging.
Cheers
Andy

[Andy01]

Cheers Chris, big brother is watching :)



Hey Andy, thanks for the nice feedback!
The Helix is an intriguing target, I look forward to seeing your take on it :)

PS: I like Blue Poles too ;)

[SimmoW]

A pity to see you are selling the RC8 already Andy, I think you were pushing it's capabilities to the limits! So, what is on the Chrissie list now? Even deeper?

[Andy01]

Honoured & delighted to have this image (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190213.html?fbclid=IwAR1oYdeQL84Y Udq0bB-K9h_cgoZt5B_au3_rdgJnUvGtjXKXs851dd NUaeI) chosen by NASA/APOD today :)

[Placidus]

A very good balance between the core detail and the outer chevrons, which is just about impossible to achieve. And from the 'burbs.

Well done. Proud of yers, even before we heard about the APOD.

[spiezzy]

congratulations Andy that image deserves being recognised as a great image and the time and effort you put into it paid off well done
cheers Pete

[miki63au]

Magnificent, thanks for sharing and congratulation :bowdown:
Mick

[strongmanmike]

As I said, a rather "eye" catching image :)

Mike

[Andy01]

M&T, Pete, Mick & Mike, thankyou all for your nice feedback! :thanx:
It’s fascinating to see the reach Apod has out there in the community.
Theres already close to 1000 shares on Facebook & Google + and I recall Apod gets almost 3 million hits daily.
Wish I had $1 for each one :lol:

[tvandoore]

Wow - simply amazing

75 hours well spent

[Totoro]

Amazing image!
May I ask a question, that with narrow band filters, what is the relationship between LP and total exposure time to get similar images? That's given same equipment, same object, same level of skill, same transparency and seeing if it matters, and same data processing techniques, if it were taken in a place with half the LP, roughly how many hours of exposure can we eventually get similar result?
Thank you